Paul Hurst on James Bolton

Shrewsbury Town Manager Paul Hurst is pleased to have added right-back James Bolton to his squad ahead of the 2017/18 season.

Bolton joins on a two-year deal from National League side Gateshead where he has impressed over the last year.

Hurst first came across James when he was playing for Halifax and he has kept an eye on the 22-year-old ever since.

“He’s a right-back, which we obviously needed”, said Paul.

“He’s someone that we’ve been trying to sign for a little while now. He’s a player that certainly impressed for Halifax in the Conference and then moved to Gateshead with the manager and he’s one that we kept an eye on last season.

“He can play centre-back as well, but I’ve made it clear that we are looking at him as a right-back. For me, he’s at a good age where there still should be some development in him, but he’s got a lot of experience and has played quite a lot of games.

“He’s a fit boy that gets up and down and he’s a good size, so he competes aerially and physically, and I am looking forward to working with him.”

With Joe Riley injured, right-back was seen as an important position to fill and Paul has no worries that James will be able to make the step up.

“We needed someone that I feel is ready for first-team football”, Hurst said.

“Yes it’s a step up in level and James has got to adapt to that quickly, but for me it’s the same game. If you are a decent player it shouldn’t really matter and I think Arthur (Gnahoua) has shown that already.

“If you’ve got ability or you are good at your job then you should be fine. You are coming up against better players, but hopefully you are playing with better players as well and I’m sure the other lads will make the step up as easy as possible for him.

“He’s been really impressed from looking round the training ground and I think he’s really looking forward to getting started and pushing his way into the team.”

Hurst is now looking forward to working with James and will be looking to help him settle into the group.

“I know I said about perhaps looking for a bit of experience, but in fairness James has been on the radar for a long time”, Paul continued.

“My job now is about making him feel at home and making him understand that he is good enough to play. He seems a relatively confident person, but sometimes people need that little bit of reassurance and I wouldn’t have brought him here if I didn’t think that he was good enough.

“Hopefully he will get to train and mix with the players very soon and we will see him pull on that Shrewsbury Town shirt, probably, at the weekend.”